Not only is cask beer only available in pubs and bars, it remains “the best version of beer”, according to Brains managing director Nick Payne.
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“We’re a small business that is to drive cask despite people moving away from cask over the years. The big brewers have moved away as well.
“So that shows the decline in cask but if you look at regional hotspots and some of the brands like Theakston, Timmy Taylor’s, Thornbridge, etc, what they’re doing and some of the smaller breweries too, they’re seeing cask growing phenomenally and it’s growing for us.
Quality is fantastic
“It is still the best version of beer you can have on the bar. When it’s done right, the quality is fantastic. And the stats show if you get cask right, total beer category increases. If beer category increases, revenue through your tail increases and people will come out because you can’t recreate cask at home.”
The boss of the Cardiff brewer also noted if people come to your pub for cask beer, the ancillary sales will also increase in the form of food, plus a partner might have a glass of wine or a gin & tonic, for example.
Payne continued: “The challenge is big brewers and the big pubcos are marginalising cask out of their estate because they want keg products because maybe they’ve got big deals with the big beer boys and they’re driving keg and lager. I get it. That’s the business.
People want change
“But they’re also, they’re also telling us that people want change. Now, if you sign a deal for four or five years, you’re not changing that keg range. What does cask give you? It enables you to change your beer and, potentially, you can have a different beer on every three days.
“You don’t need five hand pulls because that might be the wrong thing but if you have one, two or three and someone wants a punchy, strong ABV Imperial stout on cask, they can have it. If they want a light beer, you can hit the range. It’s a massive opportunity for cask and it’s a massive opportunity for operators to tap into that consumer. What I drink on a Tuesday might be different to what I want on a Friday – well we can offer it.”
Payne also called for support from all cask brewers to help support the category. He told The Morning Advertiser he has been on the road during the past year and been to businesses such as Wye Valley Brewery, Buxton Brewery, T&R Theakston’s with more to come and is working with the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) to drum up support for the sector because “no one’s going to help us. We’ve got to help ourselves so let’s work together because as a cask community, we all need everyone to be doing well”.
